Nvidia RTX 4000: Overpriced with little value

The launch event indicated that gamers like you and me were simply not Nvidia’s priority as it eschewed affordability and value for money in every way possible.

By Aditya Deshbandhu

Last Wednesday Nvidia showcased its RTX 4000 series of cards as gamers across the world watched how the new tech would be priced in a world where cryptocurrency mining is suddenly obsolete.
As Ethereum implements its proof of stake approach, miners across the world have begun cashing out on their hardware as mining of decentralized currencies struggles to remain a profitable activity.

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At such a time, the launch of Nvidia’s new cards was supposed to return their focus to their primary users – players of video games. However, the launch event indicated that gamers like you and me were simply not Nvidia’s priority as it eschewed affordability and value for money in every way possible.
By launching just the RTX 4090 and two versions of the 4080, Nvidia didn’t showcase the successor to its most popular card the RTX 3070, a line of cards that has often outsold any other Nvidia GPU line since the days of the GTX 970.

Nvidia has dug itself in a difficult hole with this move because when the 4070 does arrive it cannot outperform the cheaper 4080 as it needs to be priced lower. The problem further aggravates when you realize that the more affordable RTX 4080 is pale shadow of the 4090 and at USD 899 seems underwhelming.

Taking a look at the pricing of the three new cards – RTX 4090, 4080, and 4080 mini (I am going to call it that, deal with it) at USD 1599, 1199, and 899 respectively I can’t help but wonder if NVidia is out of touch with reality. During a cost of living and energy crisis most people are unlikely to spend this kind of money on a graphic card which is only likely to yield even higher electric bills when used extensively.

The 1599 USD price tag on a graphic card also shows how Nvidia has consistently raised prices and eked out every bit of consumer surplus on its most powerful line considering the Titan was priced at USD 999 just 7 years ago. I cannot think of any other line of electronic products that have steadily risen in prices the way Nvidia’s graphic cards have. And for once I personally feel that it is impossible to expect people to pay over Rs 2 lakh (an approximate pricing factoring in customs and import charges) on a single component.

In a single pricing move Nvidia has made the 4090 an unachievable pursuit for not just Indian gamers but gamers worldwide. It’s simply no longer aspirational. The new 40 series of cards dubbed the Lovelace line (after Ada Lovelace) with a 4nm node and incredible number of cores and shaders seem to be extremely impressive at first glance, but the thing is the most affordable of the three, the 4080 “mini” uses a lower quality die and has far fewer cores than the 4090 and the 4080. From what I can ascertain, the lower priced 4080 isn’t worth the name it carries.

As the dust around the launch settles, it is important to note that Nvidia seems to have lost faith in the very gaming market it championed a few years ago and now seems to be exclusively targeting creators and corporations. By raising prices by nearly 500 USD across the 80 line the move seems not just staggering but confounding.

I cannot in my right conscience recommend these cards considering that even I can’t afford to buy the 4090. Especially when you factor in that I am paid to play and study video games and gaming equipment. The time is now right for other makers of graphics cards to cater to the gamer. Your turn AMD and Intel!